CY YOUNG Johnson claims 5th Cy Young

It was his fourth consecutive award. Only Roger Clemens has won more.
PHOENIX (AP) -- Four seasons in Arizona, four NL Cy Young Awards.
The Arizona Diamondbacks could hardly have expected more when Randy Johnson signed with the team following the franchise's 1998 inaugural season.
"At the time we signed Randy, there were a lot of people who said, 'The guy is 35 years old. He's had back surgery. Where is he going to be four years from now?' " Arizona general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said.
As it turned out, he was playing golf at Pebble Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, taking time out, with the Pacific surf roaring in the background, to talk about his fourth consecutive Cy Young Award and fifth overall.
Only Roger Clemens, with six, has won more.
Explanation
"I'm a very simple person," Johnson said. "I work hard, and I push myself, and this is the reward."
Johnson turned 39 in September, and has never been better. He became the first National League player since Dwight Gooden in 1985 to win pitching's triple crown of wins (24-5), strikeouts (334) and earned run average (2.32).
"He's just done an incredible job. He's an extraordinary individual," said Diamondbacks managing general partner Jerry Colangelo. "He has a tremendous work ethic. The fact that he's been able to maintain this intensity level for as long as he has is amazing."
Johnson was the unanimous pick of the 32 Baseball Writers of America voters over Arizona teammate Curt Schilling. Under terms of his contract, the award means an additional $1 million in Johnson's salary this year and $3 million, to a total of $15 million, for next season.
The season ended badly for Johnson and the Diamondbacks. They won their second NL West title in a row, but were dethroned as World Series champions when they were swept by St. Louis in the division series.
Worst outing
In perhaps Johnson's worst outing of the season, the Diamondbacks lost the series opener 12-2.
For a player whose 2002 World Series triumph ranks far above any other accomplishments in his own eyes, another Cy Young Award is terrific, but still a consolation prize.
"If you remain consistent and have a good year, it's kind of a bonus," Johnson said. "This has come from maintaining consistency, hard work and dedication, and my teammates being very supportive offensively, defensively and in the bullpen."
Schilling was runner-up for the second straight season, getting 29 second-place votes and three thirds for 90 points. Atlanta closer John Smoltz was third with 21 points.
Johnson matched Greg Maddux (1992-95) as the only pitchers to win four straight Cy Youngs and became the NL's 11th unanimous winner, the first since Maddux in 1995. Johnson and Schilling became the first pitchers to finish 1-2 in Cy Young voting in consecutive years.
Johnson earned his first Cy Young with Seattle in 1995.
Category highlights
The Big Unit set a career high for wins, led the major leagues in strikeouts for the ninth time and became the first pitcher to reach 300 strikeouts in five straight seasons. He also led the majors in innings (260) and complete games (eight), and led the NL in opponents' batting average (.208). Johnson sealed the award by going 5-0 with an 0.66 ERA in September.